It would be unholy of me to leave my first review and it not be of the great BRUNO'S PIZZA in Clifton, NJ. The home of the greatest sicilian slice in the world.
I've been going here since I was just a little boy and although I've been to many, MANY different places, none have ever come close to surpassing this place as #1 on my list. Plenty of places may have a great slice of pie, but my pizza heart belongs to Bruno's. This was the place to eat after little league games, where we went for lunch on half days after school when attending Woodrow Wilson Middle School, where we ordered our football Sunday food from during the MDK187 Valley Road days and the place I'm most likely to run into my mom at any given moment - even more likely than in her own house!
You come in the front door and are greeted by a long and somewhat slim room with a bar top and stools to your right hand side and tables to your right.
You will always run into at least one of the two owners, Richie and Mike - who have been serving us with a smile for decades. The picture below is of Mike, Richie and me from my birthday a few years back.
The back room is a great place to dine - and a place that I have had many of my birthday dinners, Thanksgiving Eve get-togethers, family meals and meetings with friends. The penne Vodka with chicken is incredible, as is everything else that I have had there.
Now let's get to the actual pizza. The plain pie is my mom's favorite. She will go in all the time and get a slice and a bottle of coke, with a full cup of ice. They know exactly what she wants when she walks in, it's a standing order if she sits up front. About 2/3 of the way through her slice, they'll ask her if she wants a 2nd. I like the round slice just fine, but what really stands out to me is the Sicilian (square.)
Going to Bruno's to me means ordering 2 square slices, 1 with meatballs and a large fountain birch beer. This is my heaven and I need nothing more than that to survive. They give a nice thick crust - always consistently crispy and doughy at the same time without being burnt. The put the cheese right on the crust and top it with the sauce and spices. I have only seen it done this way in a few places, but to me, it's the only way. I rarely will eat a Sicilian slice any other way because it will just not match up to this. The meatballs are fairly thick and sliced - so you really get a great tasting meatball with each bite of your slice. Recently, I tried topping this slice with Buffalo chicken. It was absolutely amazing! I must say, the slice does not NEED the topping, but I love me some buffalo chicken pizza, and to combine that with the Bruno's square was as good as it gets! Here's a photo of my typical square slice with meatballs, and my daughter in one of her early trips here.
They also make a mean personal pan deep dish pie. My two favorite ways to take this would be the aforementioned buffalo chicken and a penne vodka with chicken pie. Each are entirely too messy to eat with your bare hands - it's one of the only times I would tolerate using a fork and knife on a regular basis. The penne Vodka pie is actually at it's best if you take it home, let it cool off for 5-10 minutes and thicken up. Right out of the oven is great too, but it's so hot that it's pretty tough to eat, so please be patient.
A few years ago, my friend turned me on to their stromboli. Another winner - but it is a full meal and then some if you are eating it yourself. I always get the pepperoni stromboli which comes with a side of sauce to dip in. It can have a tendency of being very doughy at times and you get some parts that don't have a ton of meat in them, but it's actually cool because it tastes great! I'd say about 3/4 of the stromboli has plenty of meat and cheese in it and it's just the ends that are more like a breadstick.
Bruno's is also very involved with the town - sponsoring little league teams for decade! Believe it or not, I was on Bruno's team back in the day. I will need to dig up that picture and post it on here when I get chance.
NJ.Com's Pizza Power Ranking have them listed at #15 in the state - but boasts that they are " The state's best Sicilian slice is here, fat and sassy and bursting with tart tomatoey goodness"
NJ PIZZA POWER RANKINGS
Check them out on Facebook at Bruno's Facebook Page
Sooooo, after kissing Bruno's ass for the past half hour writing this edition of the Pizza Whore Tour Blog, I hope that you all realize that if you have not been here before, you should go! It's a top notch experience in every way. _______________________________________________________
PS - just for fun, how can you resist throwing a photo of my little dude having pizza at Brunos?
No comments:
Post a Comment